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Nov. 7: Election Day. The networks project that Vice President Al Gore has won Florida. They later retract that projection. Nov. 8: The FOX Television Network projects that Texas Gov. George W. Bush has won Florida, and consequently the White House. Gore telephones him to concede at about 3 a.m. EST, only to retract the call about an hour later because Bush's slim margin of victory in Florida triggers an automatic recount. Nov 8: "Because of the closeness of the presidential election, an automatic recount as provided by law is currently under way," Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Nov. 9: Gore campaign chairman William Daley says Gore will seek a hand recount of the ballots cast in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward and Volusia counties -- about 1.8 million votes. Nov. 11: Bush's attorneys file suit in U.S. District Court to block Gore's request for manual recounts. Nov. 13: A Miami federal judge rejects Bush's request for an order barring hand recounts; Bush later appeals. The Volusia County Canvassing Board sues to extend the state's Nov. 14 deadline for counties to submit election returns to Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Nov. 17: Florida Supreme Court prohibits Harris from certifying results, as she had planned to do Nov. 18, until further notice. An Atlanta federal appeals court refuses to block manual recounts in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Nov. 21: Florida Supreme Court rules that manual recounts may continue and that those votes must be included in the final tally. Court sets as deadline for certifying the election Nov. 26, a Sunday, or early Nov. 27. Nov. 22: The Miami-Dade canvassing board votes unanimously to halt manual recounts. Nov. 24: U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Bush's appeal on the legality of the Florida Supreme Court's decision to allow recounts and extend state deadline for certification. Nov. 26: Hand counts go down to the wire, with Palm Beach canvassers completing
theirs 1 1/2 hours after the 5 p.m. deadline. Harris refuses to accept those
results, and certifies final tallies giving Bush a 537-vote victory over Gore.
Nov. 28: Gore and Bush file briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court. Leon County
Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls orders about 14,000 disputed ballots from Palm
Beach and Miami-Dade counties brought to him in Tallahassee. Nov. 30: A Florida legislative committee recommends a special session to name the state's 25 representatives to the Electoral College, which elects the president. Florida governor Jeb Bush, the Republican candidate's brother, who had earlier disqualified himself from election matters, says he'd sign such a bill into law. Bush meets with Cheney and Colin Powell, his likely pick for secretary of state, at Bush's Texas ranch. Dec. 1: U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on Bush's appeal regarding recount deadline. Local Democrats file lawsuit accusing the Martin County Canvassing Board of mishandling absentee ballot applications. Florida Supreme Court refuses Gore's appeal to immediately start recounting ballots in his election challenge. Dec. 2-3: Sauls holds trial on Gore's election challenge. Dec. 5: U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta hears Bush's request to stop manual recounts, which earlier was rejected by the U.S. District Court. Dec. 6: Separate trials on the Martin and Seminole county absentee ballot cases begin in Leon County Circuit Court. Florida's Republican legislative leaders call for a special session to consider whether to appoint the state's electors. Dec. 7: Florida Supreme Court hears Gore's appeal of Sauls' decision rejecting Gore's election challenge. Trials completed in Seminole and Martin county cases. Dec. 8: Two Leon County Circuit Court judges refuse to throw out any of the 25,000 absentee ballots challenged in Martin and Seminole counties. A divided Florida Supreme Court orders manual recounts to begin in Gore's election challenge and adds 383 votes to his total. The Florida Legislature meets in special session and adjourns with plans to convene again on Dec. 12. The Bush campaign appeals to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the manual recounts. Dec. 9: Manual counts resume in the morning. The 11th Circuit refuses to take up the case. A bare majority of the U.S. Supreme Court rules to halt manual recounts pending Dec. 11 arguments. Hand counts cease late in the afternoon, pending the Dec. 11 Supreme Court hearing. Dec. 10: Documents relating to the Gore contest travel from Tallahassee to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The ballots stay behind. Dec. 11: Lawyers for both the Bush and Gore campaigns argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Florida Legislature holds hearings as it prepares to appoint a set of electors. Dec. 12: U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision which says that there should be a manual recount but they have a problem with the way it is being done and remand the case to the Florida Supreme Court to issue a decision on how the votes are to be counted. You can read the decision here: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/florida.html Deadline for Florida to certify its 25 electors. The Florida House of Representatives votes to certify a slate of electors for George W. Bush. Summary:
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